Following up on the tweets of his wife and daughter, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has ended his silence on the matter of Aaron Hernandez, his former player who is accused of murder.

There has been mounting criticism on the Florida program Meyer used to coach about the way Hernandez was handled—or wasn’t handled. Hernandez is in jail in Massachusetts after being charged with first-degree murder in the execution-style killing of Odin Floyd.

“Prayers and thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim,” Meyer told the Columbus Dispatch Saturday in a text message. “Relating or blaming these serious charges to the University of Florida, myself or our staff is wrong and irresponsible.”

— According to Gainesville police, Hernandez got into a fight with a bouncer when he was a freshman in 2007, and hit the bouncer so hard, he ruptured his eardrum.

— Also according to Gainesville police, Hernandez was questioned as part of a shooting in Gainesville in 2007; a case that still is open and a case where a witness described the shooter as a Hawaiian or Hispanic man who was 6-3 or 6-4 and weighed 240 pounds.

— Hernandez failed a drug test at Florida, and sources told Sporting News last year that Meyer covered it up by having Hernandez wear a walking boot and feign injury during the game he had to sit out as punishment.

In his text messages to the Columbus Dispatch on Saturday morning, Meyer continued to defend himself and his former program in Gainesville.

“I just received an email from a friend where there is an accusation of multiple failed drug tests by Hernandez covered up by University of Florida or the coaching staff. This is absolutely not true,” Meyer texted. “Hernandez was held to the same drug testing policy as every other player.

“He was an athlete at Florida 4-7 yrs ago and there are some comments being made that are not correct. Our staff, myself and our families worked very hard to mentor and guide him.”

Earlier, Meyer’s family came to his defense. His wife, Shelley, tweeted, ‘When will we start holding individuals accountable for their own decisions/actions and stop blaming any/everyone else?”